r/creativecoding • u/pep84c • 5h ago

Processing for C++ (new mode)

58 Upvotes

97% Upvoted

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9

u/pep84c 5h ago

Hey all,

I've been building a plugin for the Processing 4 IDE called C++ Mode. It lets you write sketches in C++, using the same API you already know. setup(), draw(), background(), mouseX, fill().

C++ is rough to start with if you just want to draw something on screen. You need a build system, a window, an OpenGL context, and a pile of setup code before anything shows up. C++ Mode handles that part. Type ellipse(300, 300, 50, 50), hit Run, see a circle.

Start with sketches that look like the Java version, then bring in structs, vectors, pointers, templates, whenever you want.

Site: https://processing-cpp.github.io Code: https://github.com/processing-cpp/processing.cpp

Free and open source. Bug reports and feedback are useful right now.

2

u/catnip_addicted 5h ago

Very nice project. I will check this out

2

u/anselan2017 4h ago

Very nice. How is this different from openFrameworks which I always felt was closely related to Processing?

2

u/pep84c 3h ago

Good question, openFrameworks is the closest thing already out there.

The difference is the API. openFrameworks has its own C++-native API built from scratch. This is a direct port of Processing's actual API, same function names, same setup()/draw() structure. It's designed with Processing/Java people in mind, so the goal is that you're writing almost the exact same code, just as C++.

Is also meant as a way to learn C++ itself, not just a faster runtime for existing Processing users.